What Are The Different Types Of Encryption Methods
Anelsy Gosson
There are two types of encryption in widespread use today: symmetric and asymmetric encryption. The name derives from whether or not the same key is used for encryption and decryption.
Asymmetric encryption uses the notion of a key pair: a different key is used for the encryption and decryption process. One of the keys is typically known as the private key and the other is known as the public key.
Data encryption is one of the many ways organizations can protect their data. Encryption turns plaintext (readable data) into ciphertext (randomized data), which requires the use of a unique cryptographic key for interpretation.
The goal of data encryption is to protect information from being seen by unauthorized personnel. Practically, encryption is one way to conceal information by making it appear as random data, not useful information. Encryption can be applied both to data in three primary ways:
Due to multiple types of data and various security use cases, many different methods of encryption exist. We can broadly group data encryption methods into two categories: symmetric and asymmetric data encryption.
When using symmetrical encryption methods, a single secret key is used to encrypt plaintext and decrypt ciphertext. Both the sender and receiver have private access to the key, which can only be used by authorized recipients. Symmetric encryption is also known as private key cryptography.
This method of encryption is known as public key cryptography. In asymmetric encryption, two keys are used: a public key and a private key. Separate keys are used for both the encryption and decryption processes:
Asymmetric encryption offers another level of security to the data which makes online transfers safer. Common asymmetric encryption methods include Rivest Shamir Adleman (RSA) and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)
Many people mistake hashing for being an encryption technique, but this is an important distinction to make. In hashing, there is no key, which means you cannot ensure complete privacy. Additionally, a hash can be recreated.
The Advanced Encryption Standard is a symmetric encryption algorithm that is the most frequently used method of data encryption globally. Often referred to as the gold standard for data encryption, AES is used by many government bodies worldwide, including in the U.S.
The Triple Data Encryption Standard, sometimes shortened to Triple DES or 3DES, is a symmetric encryption method that uses a 56-bit key to encrypt data blocks. It is a more advanced, more secure version of the Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithm. As its name indicates, TDES applies DES to each block of data three times.
It is extremely difficult for a hacker to work out the original prime numbers, so this encryption technique is a viable way to secure confidential data within an organization. There are some limitations to this method, primarily that it slows when encrypting larger volumes of data. Typically, though, RSA is used for:
Another symmetric encryption algorithm is FPE: Format-Preserving Encryption. As the name suggests, this algorithm keeps the format (and length) of your data during encryption. An example would be a phone number. If the original number is 012-345-6789, then the ciphertext would retain the format but use a different, randomized set of numbers e.g. 313-429-5072.
The ECC encryption algorithm is a relatively new asymmetric encryption method. It uses a curve diagram to represent points that solve a mathematical equation, making it highly complex. The shorter keys make it faster and stronger than RSA encryption. ECC can be used for:
One of the major challenges to data encryption techniques within an organization is key management. Any keys required for decryption must be stored somewhere. Unfortunately, this location is often less secure than people think. Hackers have a particular knack for uncovering the whereabouts of key information, posing a huge threat to enterprise and network security.
Use data encryption tools in addition to general security solutions like email security platforms, cloud security software, and payment gateways, as they can also encrypt data and provide added levels of security.
For your data encryption strategy to be truly successful, employees need to buy into a culture of security. Education and training on encryption key management and best practices are crucial for minimizing the human error factor of improper key storage, as we explored above, can put important data at risk.
The goal of encryption is to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information. But your organization still requires additional cybersecurity solutions to keep hackers at bay. These include firewalls, endpoint security measures and VPNs.
For now, implementing an effective data encryption solution that fits your unique security needs and is deployed in collaboration with your IT, operations and management teams is one of the best ways to safeguard your data in the modern workplace.
Data encryption is a method of protecting data by encoding it in such a way that it can only be decrypted or accessed by an individual who holds the correct encryption key. When a person or entity accesses encrypted data without permission, it appears scrambled or unreadable.
Data encryption is the process of converting data from a readable format to a scrambled piece of information. This is done to prevent prying eyes from reading confidential data in transit. Encryption can be applied to documents, files, messages, or any other form of communication over a network.
In order to preserve the integrity of our data, encryption is a vital tool whose value cannot be overstated. Almost everything we see on the internet has passed through some layer of encryption, be it websites or applications.
The data that needs to be encrypted is termed plaintext or cleartext. The plaintext needs to be passed via some encryption algorithms, which are basically mathematical calculations to be done on raw information. There are multiple encryption algorithms, each of which differs by application and security index.
Apart from the algorithms, one also needs an encryption key. Using said key and a suitable encryption algorithm, the plaintext is converted into the encrypted piece of data, also known as ciphertext. Instead of sending the plaintext to the receiver, the ciphertext is sent through insecure channels of communication.
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Encryption algorithms are used to convert data into ciphertext. By using the encryption key, an algorithm can alter data in a predictable manner, resulting in the encrypted data appearing random, but it can be converted back into plaintext by using the decryption key.
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Although the Triple Data Encryption Algorithm (3DEA) is the formal name, it is more generally known as 3DES. This is because the 3DES method encrypts its data three times with the Data Encryption Standard (DES) cypher. DES is a Feistel network-based symmetric-key technique. As a symmetric key cypher, it employs the same key for both encryption and decryption. The Feistel network renders each of these processes almost identical, resulting in a more efficient technique to implement.
Although DES has a 64-bit block and key size, the key only provides 56 bits of protection in practise. Because of the short key length of DES, 3DES was created as a more secure alternative.The DES algorithm is executed three times with three keys in 3DES; nevertheless, it is only deemed secure if three distinct keys are utilised.
According to a draught proposal provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), all variants of 3DES would be deprecated until 2023 and prohibited beginning in 2024. Although it is only a draught, the plan represents the end of an era.
As a result, the industry is pushing encryption on several fronts. Some attempts are being made to increase key sizes in order to prevent brute-force decoding. Other initiatives are investigating novel cryptography algorithms. For example, the National Institute of Standards and Technology is testing a quantum-safe next-generation public key algorithm.
The issue is that most quantum-safe algorithms are inefficient on traditional computer systems. To overcome this issue, the industry is concentrating on inventing accelerators to accelerate algorithms on x86 systems.
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